Harry Potter: Wizards Unite looks to expand on the Pokemon GO formula

Sue Mclaughlin |Tuesday, March 12, 2019

'Harry Potter: Wizards Unite' is about protecting muggles

Pokémon Go developer Niantic and WB Games just gave us our first in-depth look at the gameplay for their next augmented reality game, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, slated for release sometime this year. Hopefully, the studios are saving the best to last, with Harry Potter:Wizards Unite coming to iOS and Android mobile devices in 2019. In short, everything important to the wizarding world has been scattered, and-in accordance with the International Statute of Secrecy, a law created to protect the wizarding world from Muggles-you are recruited to the Statute of Secrecy Task Force to keep the secrets of magic contained.

There'll also be combat in the form of Fortresses dotted around the map, where you'll be able to battle with other players against unsafe foes in a manner that sounds not dissimilar to Pokemon Go's gym battles, as well as professions that will allow you to specalise in the types of magic.

These "Foundables" will appear on the map as you walk around - expect to find a fair few in parks, museums, monuments, galleries and other public spaces. Pre-registration is now available on Google Play. By returning Foundables, you'll earn unique rewards that can be tracked in the game Registry. While Pokemon Go continues to move forward through its loyal following, Niantic has been hard at work on their follow-up, drawing from another beloved universe: Harry Potter. Wizarding Challenges are described as "real-time multiplayer battles against risky foes, including Death Eaters and soul-sucking Dementors". In addition, there are Portmanteaus that, when unlocked, hand out Portkeys that "whisk you away to iconic wizarding world locations". Upon stepping outside, you will be forced to use the map revealing the location of these magical "Foundables". As we've seen in almost every Harry Potter movie ever, the Muggle world and wizarding world are intertwined, therefore I wouldn't say a Niffler going ham in a jewellery shop "appeared" in the Muggle world.

Wizards Unite'sgameplay doesn't split players into teams as of now, Eurogamerreports, but they can choose one of three classes: the Magizoologist, the Professor, and the Auror, which, respectively, are good at taking down magical beasts, understanding the intricacies of magic, and spell-casting.

Addressing concerns about how well the servers will fare when potential Wizards and Witches start playing, Bhargava addressed the disappointing 2017 Pokemon Go Fest, which suffered from catastrophic server issues.

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